TMC The Metals Company (TMC -13.49%) stock is falling in Friday's trading following the company's recent earnings report. TMC's share price was down 8.6% as of 10:45 a.m. ET and had been off as much as 12.2% earlier in trading.

TMC reported its second-quarter results, issued business updates, and held an investor conference call after the market closed yesterday. While the company issued some generally encouraging commentary on its path to beginning commercial operations, some investors appear to be unhappy with the timeline. Despite the post-earnings sell-off today, the stock is still up roughly 339% year to date as of this writing.

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TMC stock sinks on Q2 business update

TMC reported a net loss of $0.20 per share on no revenue in the second quarter. The sales result in the period wasn't surprising because the seabed mining specialist is still going through permitting processes and laying other foundations to begin commercial operations. Additionally, the company's operating loss of $22 million doesn't look particularly concerning in the context of its long-term business opportunities.

On the other hand, management set a Q4 2027 date to begin mining operations -- and some investors were likely hoping that the company would manage to get things started earlier. TMC stock has seen incredible valuation gains in conjunction with hopes for rapid scaling of its seabed mining operations, and the targeted start date seems to be causing some investors to take profits on the stock.

What's next for TMC?

TMC released two studies suggesting a net present value of $23.69 billion for its mining projects. The company also issued generally reassuring commentary on its outlook for receiving the necessary permitting approvals.

The company's seabed mining projects have seemingly received some significant support in the form of an executive order from President Donald Trump aimed at speeding up permitting approvals for offshore domestic mining projects. Conversely, the targeted Q4 2027 production date may have some investors worried that the estimated start date aligns with the ramping up of the next U.S. presidential election cycle. TMC has potentially explosive growth opportunities, but there is a lot of uncertainty on the horizon.